![]() There’s a reason an entire genre is named after Metroid (Metroidvania, in case you were wondering) and that’s because nobody does it quite like Metroid. But collecting Metroid, Metroid II: Return of Samus, Super Metroid, Metroid: Zero Mission, and Metroid Fusion in one package would be amazingly cool. (Even though Metroid Prime Pinball is an awesome game). The Prime Trilogy is its own thing, and I’m pretty sure the world would keep spinning if Hunters, Federation Force, and Pinball didn’t see the remaster treatment. This likely won’t happen, but if Nintendo really wanted to pump some life into the Metroid brand before Prime 4 launches, putting together some sort of nice collection of the classic 2D Metroid games would be one heck of a way to do it. I’m pretty sure the game sold well enough on 3DS, but it could do VERY well for itself if ported to Switch. It’s a complete overhaul of Metroid II: Return of Samus for the original Game Boy, which is probably the least-played Metroid game in the franchise, and one of the most important story-wise. It doesn’t do anything control-wise that would need serious retooling when being translated to Switch, and most importantly, it’s just a fun, well-designed game. The game has really great art direction, which would absolutely shine in HD on my big screen TV. Well, now that we’re at least a year (probably more) away from Prime 4’s release, it’s time to give Samus Returns a new chance to shine on Switch. The only thing that made the decision to keep the game on 3DS okay was the fact that Prime 4 was on its way. Many people, myself included, wanted this game on their Switch. Trouble is, it was on 3DS, which was a point of contention for a lot of gamers at the time of its release. Metroid: Samus Returns on 3DS was a really cool game. There has quite literally never been a better time for Metroid to become a blockbuster, and having three of its best games, remastered in HD (hopefully with non-motion control options as well) would be a spectacular stop gap for folks waiting to get their hands on Prime 4. Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, even stuff like Doom and Bayonetta 2 are doing pretty well. Now, the Switch is pulling Wii-level numbers, but the big difference is, people are buying games too. ![]() Prime 3 is a masterpiece, and a real showcase for how good motion controls can be if done right, but it’s grossly underplayed. The vast majority were buying Wii Sports, Carnival Games, Wii Fit, New Super Mario Bros., and Mario Kart. Then there’s Prime 3, and really, the prime trilogy sits in this same boat, because while it was on the Wii, the biggest selling console around at the time, the people buying Wii weren’t interested in sci-fi action shooters. Prime 2 didn’t even do as well as the first one, which is a real shame considering how good it is. The original Metroid Prime is one of the franchise’s best selling games, and even that was limited because it was on the GameCube, a wonderful console that didn’t exactly have the biggest install base on the planet. But what it would do is put one of gaming’s best trilogies on gaming’s most popular platform, which is definitely not a bad thing. Rumor has it this is actually already a finished product, and Nintendo is just waiting on the right time to let it loose. This one’s about as obvious as it gets, and honestly I’m waiting for its announcement any day now. So what can they do? Here are a few ideas. A Metroid game on Switch absolutely could hit it big the way Nintendo hopes it would, and having the Switch go without one of the big N’s most revered franchises for this long is slightly problematic. Sure, Metroid has rarely been the sales success it should be, but the Nintendo Switch is the perfect system to turn those fortunes around. However, that still leaves the problem of the giant, Metroid sized hole in Nintendo’s lineup. But in the long run, it would be better to have a good game than a timely one. This is a bit of a disappointment for Metroid fans, as many of us were holding out hope for a 2019 release. In case you hadn’t heard, Nintendo has scrapped development on Metroid Prime 4 and started from scratch with Retro at the helm.
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